


Harmless Souls

by TyJax_EeOwen



Series: Original OC Solos [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Battlefield, Kissing, M/M, Making Out, Minor Violence, Soulmates, War, soul marks, soulmates meeting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 12:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13481925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyJax_EeOwen/pseuds/TyJax_EeOwen
Summary: Prompt: You live in a world where your Soulmate is unable to hurt you, intentional or otherwise. You're fighting in a war when one of the enemies knives harmlessly grazes you.





	Harmless Souls

**Jace Garrett                                         Lucus Matheson**

Lucus dropped to duck behind a large tree and a few bushes, the shrubbery being his cover in this massive forest. He breathed softly, his hunting knife and pistol in hand and at the ready. A lot of his men had died, the same for the other side of the war and he hated how much death was at his hand as it was. He kept going though. Friends were dead because of them. _His_ friends. They’d meant everything to him and now he was left alone. He was angry.

The young Soldier peaked out, seeing three guys with guns climbing down a bank nearby, the opposing side, their uniforms gave it away. He stayed low, watching them closely as they reached the bottom. He was on edge, his nerves itching under his skin. There were three of them, one of him and though he’d taken many out so far, he was still alone. He didn’t like killing, he never did. But being forced into war at a young age and trained him for it. It was second nature at this point and he couldn’t _not_ fight.

He waited, still and silent in the shrubs and behind the tree. He was made for silence and stealth. Lucus was light and fast on his feet, always taking down the opponent by sneaking up on them. He was always with the Unit that was sent into the forests for an advantage. He was the advantage, his team and comrades.

They got closer and closer, one of them huffing and chattering about the forest being a bad place. And it was, the guy wasn’t making it up. His gut feeling was right. Lucus shifted further undercover, his grip tightening around his hunting knife, his knuckles turning white under the touch texture of the fingerless gloves. No need for a pistol what with how close they were. He silently tucked it into his belt and waited just that little bit longer until the three were on him.

Lucus shot back and around the tree, his hand reaching out to grab one guys jaw, his knife thrusting into the back of his neck and angled upwards. In a swift movement, he darted to the second closest, switching the knife to the other hand and he swiped, slitting the man’s throat, blood immediately spraying-.

He shot back just as he saw the shine of a knife come at him, the third swinging and slashing, and with each step the man took towards him, Lucus took a few back until he felt himself press back against a tree, eyes widening, ducking as the knife swung, taking out a chunk of the tree he’d been against.

Luc dropped into a roll, passing the other man fast and he darted up to his feet just as the other swung again. Not being fast enough to duck or dodge this time, he threw his arms up to block, aware that it’d slice his forearms.

But no pain came. He felt the hunting knife graze him, but that was it. His adrenaline was high, his body shaking lightly, heart beating faster than ever, he was panting. Lucus glanced between his forearms just in time to see him launch forward, grabbing him, swinging him around and his back hit a tree again, much harder, enough to draw a gasp-grunt from him, the guy’s hand pinning him to the trunk by his neck, a hand around his throat, and his hands reached up to grip the wrist and he saw him draw back the hunting knife, Lucus having dropped his own when he was thrown around.

He instantly squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the moment the knife drove through him-, but he barely felt it. He just felt like a punch to his chest and it didn’t hurt.

“What the hell,” a gruff voice spoke up and Lucus slowly open his eyes, his hands shaking slightly around the guy's wrist from the fact that the adrenaline was wearing down. His heart was hammering so fast and he glanced up at the face staring, almost glaring. He was confused and Lucus frowned in question, blinking before glancing down to where he’d felt the impact and he saw the hunting knife. It’d only torn his jacket and shirt, some of his skin showing through and the knife was pressed against his chest, but no skin was broken, no blood.

He wasn’t knife-proof, Lucus was very sure of that. He’d been stabbed before and he still the scar, so that was a thing he was very certain about. He swallowed and felt relief pour from him. His body tensing again when the knife was tossed and the second hand reached for his throat, the grip tightening, his heart speeding up and he was afraid it’d break a rib. The grip around his neck tightened and he held onto both wrists as he felt it, swallowing harshly and panting slightly faster, but it didn’t get any tighter. He wasn’t strangling him.

Lucus’ eyes were squeezed shut again and he heard the angry growl that left the other guy. He was pissed about something. He peaked his eye open again, looking towards the man, his teeth bared and eyes angry. He was _definitely_ pissed about something.

“Why can’t I kill you,” he growled, his face getting close to Lucus’, a mere few inches away that he could feel his warm breath against his skin and his heart skipped slightly in worry. He could almost see the cogs turning in his head through his eyes. He was calculating, thinking deeply about what the hell was going on. Lucus hoped that he’d let him know when he found out because he was just as much lost on why he wasn’t bleeding out or choking from lack of oxygen right now. He really thought he’d be dead by now.

“Like to know that myself,” Lucus replied shakily, his breath coming out stuttery along with his words. He was panting, lightheaded from this situation. He was at a loss and he had no idea what was going on.

Lucus felt one hand leave his throat to press against the tree beside his head to let himself lean there, the other hand still around his neck, but it wasn’t to kill him. It was to keep him there against the bark. The soldier swallowed and clenched his jaw, watching the bigger man as he frowned in thought, staring at him like it’d give him his answers.

He was pretty close, making it hard to imagine that Lucus could break the hold and get away without being grabbed again. The guy had the advantage of strength and reflex. Lucus only had speed in this situation and he’d be caught again as soon as he tried what with how close he was. He was practically holding him to the tree with his body caging Luc in.

The Soldier stayed still, just staring back at the calculating eyes that bored through his own. He could almost see how sharp his senses were from the stare alone, the bright blue eyes giving it away.

It felt like a while before the other guy had a change. He frowned hard and huffed like maybe he had an idea. He was really staring at him now, still glaring some and then he watched as the man pulled back from the tree, directing Lucus with him. He was walked a few feet and shoved forward, Lucus turning to stare at the guy.

“Pick it up,” he pointed down at the hunting knife at Luc’s boot. He stared down at it and then back up to the stranger. Could he really call him that after having been pinned to a tree by him…?

Lucus watched him for a long moment, his gaze lingering and he reached down, picking up the hunting knife. It was the guys’ knife, the one he threw when he couldn’t stab Lucus with it. He took a breath, just holding it in his hand, eyeing it over. It wasn’t like it wasn’t sharp enough. It was plenty sharp. He could give himself a paper-cut with it.

“Stab me,” the guys’ voice sounded off, resigned? No… it was more like he didn’t want to confirm something. Too on the nose? Too obvious? Lucus was just guessing and from the face he was making and the sound of his tone, that was what he thought.

Lucus quirked a questioning brow at him and lifted the blade, twirling it in his grasp and he strode towards him, cautious and on guard, in case he counter-attacked him as he thrust the blade. He wouldn’t rule out this being a trick. He got closer and drew back the hunting knife, thrusting it forward towards the guy mid-section, a bit to the side and the blade completely slipped to the side, making him trip a little closer until he was in the guys' space.

He looked a little up to meet the man’s eyes and he was locked for a moment, being a bit too close to his liking because of the situation. The Soldier cleared his throat and stepped back, looking down at his waist. His clothes were torn, but that was it, no blood, no broken skin. It was like what the man did to Lucus earlier.

The Soldier stared and distractedly handed the knife back, staring at where he’d stabbed. There was really no wound. He reached out, not thinking about it and brushed the skin where he knew for a fact he hit. Warm, unbroken skin brushed under his fingers and he frowned. His chest was the same and it almost immediately clicked on what just happened.

Lucus looked up at the guy with wider eyes, staring with his mouth falling agape slightly. There was no way this was happening. Not here on the frontlines. They were at War and Lucus really just found his other-half? They’d tried to kill each other, they were on the opposing side of this War. They were meant to be enemies.

“Get it now?” the other man eyed him, really resigned now that they’d tested it and it was confirmed for him that they were Soulmates. Lucus had imagined actually meeting his one, but he never thought or expected _this_ to be their meeting moment. It was so random and out of the blue. Who’d ever think they’d meet their other-half on the battlefield? And on the other team?! It sort of reminded him of Romeo and Juliet, but he wasn’t going that far, because there was no way he was Juliet in this scenario, nope.

“Yeah,” he answered softly, eyes turning away, head a tad lowered. This situation was just… twisted. They were enemies, fighting from the opposite sides of a war that their Rulers started and they were just caught in the middle. What exactly was supposed to come out of this? They couldn’t do anything about it without getting into trouble. They couldn’t abandon the war and run off into the sunset. They’d be classed as deserters. “What now…”

Lucus glanced back up at the man, watching as he huffed and ran a hand over his face and into his hair, threading it. Again, there wasn’t much that could be really done about this. To Lucus’ knowledge anyway.

“I don’t know,” he finally answered and the Soldier sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck as he handed the blade over, not really seeing him as much of a threat now that they couldn’t actually hurt each other and he didn’t really see the point now, not after this discovery. The man took the blade, sheathing it in a holster at his back and Lucus cleared his throat before heading over to the tree where he’d dropped his own. He crouched, picked it up, stood and sheathed his own, turning to look at the other man, of whom was still watching him with some caution.

Lucus huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, not really sure what to do at this point. He had more soldiers to take down, but he didn’t want to leave this as is. They started off terrible and he had this urge to want to really stay with him, to keep talking and to keep in contact in some way. Was that the Soulmate thing? Or was that him? He wasn’t sure what he was meant to do, he’d never expected to ever actually meet his Soulmate.

“Is it stupid that I don’t actually wanna leave this as it is?” Lucus asked quietly, his tone flat because he didn’t want to sound as weak or as vulnerable as he thought he sounded when he’d had a moment to think about it. He could see the obvious expression the man gave him, that yes, it was stupid and he gnawed the inside of his lip.

“Yeah, it is,” the guy answered after a long moment and Lucus glanced away in resignation. It was stupid, he knew it was and the guy only just affirmed it for him. “But that makes me an idiot too,” he frowned and glanced back up, eyes directly centring on the man. He was looking away, arms crossed and Lucus was unnerved by the slight spark of hope that flickered in his chest. It made him question if something could actually come out of this. Though he assumed that their higher-ups wouldn’t like this. Would it be considered treason? Or Desertion?

“Doubt our Commanders will be happy about this,” Lucus voiced his thoughts for a moment, his arms tightening around his chest. He didn’t like the thought that maybe this would be treated badly by their bosses. He’d never heard of anyone else meeting their other-half while at war. It wasn’t in the history books or in any Soulmate stories.

“It’s in the Military Regulations. They’ll have to deal with it,” he saw the man shrug. He seemed confident that this was allowed, or that the bosses would have to deal with it instead of treating the matter like it was nothing. Lucus wasn’t so sure and it seemed to be written on his face because the other man sighed and turned towards him before beginning to explain. “There’s a slim chance that Soulmates could find each other on the battlefield, and if so they can Discharge themselves. It’s a _human-rights_ thing. Soulmates can’t fight each other, so it’s classed as a right to Discharge,”

“That makes sense,” Lucus smiled, his previous concern diminishing some. It made things easier and now he wished he’d read that Regulations guide. “Yeah, I didn’t read the Regulations stuff,” he admittedly honestly with a scoff, seeing the other man shake his head subtly.

“I can tell,” he replied with a lazy smirk. Lucus chuckled lightly and loosened his arms to pocket his hands, now feeling completely fine with the other man. He wasn’t a threat to him. Speaking of… he didn’t want to have to keep labelling him as _The other man_ or _The other guy._

“I, uh-...” he started lamely and huffed before heading over to the other man, a hand reaching out. “Lucus Matheson,” he greeted, a smile still on his face, along with some embarrassment that he couldn’t even introduce himself without messing up.

“Jace Garrett,” Jace replied and it drew Lucus’ smile wider as they shook on it, the contact lingering for a while so that they both noticed and it sparked something warm in his chest. He’d had a little hope before, but it just grew that little bit more. He was genuinely smiling that they were putting the enemies thing passed them for this.

Lucus heard stories from Soulmates, his grandmother and grandfather being a pair. They’d explained a few things and described others with such a beautiful way of portraying it that he’d been excited and wanted to meet his Soulmate all that much sooner. He was a kid, he had excited and he’d wanted that kind of love, one that only the other half of his soul could give. They’d mentioned the marks too, the ones that burned into the skin and looked like a heated brand when they shared the very first kiss and how the mark became more like an old tattoo as years passed. Oh yeah-.

“They need proof, right? That we found each other,” Lucus mentioned, Jace, seeming to think for a moment before realizing that and he frowned. He didn’t think about that and Lucus smirked, already knowing what they could show as proof of this encounter. “The Marks,” he added as a suggestion and he saw the smile grow across Jace’s lips.

“God thinkin’,” the other Soldier chuckled bemusedly and Lucus headed over to him, posture loose and relaxed as he strode and as soon as he was within arms reach, Jace turned towards him. He didn’t think it would be all that awkward and thankfully, Jace had it handled. There was only a moment of awkward silence when Lucus stopped within reach and the other Soldier reached out, resting a hand up to Lucus’ neck, his thumb brushing his jaw with the tips of his fingers messing with the base of his hair.

There was another short awkwardness before Jace leaned into him and brushed their lips together, locking them in a kiss. It was warm and the other pressed closer, his other hand lacing around Lucus’ shoulders to keep him closer. It felt like his breath left him, heat pooling in his chest as their mouths just pressed harder against each other, Luc’s hands reaching up and winding behind Jace’s back, hands gripping the shirt at his shoulder-blades.

He could feel the burn in his chest, where Jace’s knife had made contact earlier, where he’d tried stabbing him. It was heating up fast, burning his skin, but he didn’t stop kissing to check. Lucus tried getting as close as he could, their chests to hips now in complete contact. They were moulding their lips together over and over, heated, but not desperate. It wasn’t just a peck or a lingering kiss, it was multiple in one and a few times, Lucus caught onto the fact that their mouths continuously opened against each other in a smooth and slow rhythm.

And then he felt Jace slow down, breaking the lock to catch his breath, Lucus having been about to break it himself since he needed air and that little area of his chest felt like it was on fire. He looked towards where his shirt was ripped and saw the scolding, black burn of a symbol on his chest. It looked like a small Celtic styled Dog paw print with Celtic laces wrapped around each other, encircling the paw. He never actually knew the meaning behind the Marks and his grandparents never told him.

Lucus looked up at Jace and saw that he was staring down, Luc following his gaze to where Lucus had stabbed earlier, where the tears in his own shirt were. The same mark was burned into his flesh too and he felt warm, smiling at the fact that he was connected to his other-half and his other-half shared a Mark with him.

He bit the inside of his lip and reached up with one hand, tilting Jace’s head up, he was smiling too and a light chuckle being shared between them for a moment. They stared at each other, still smiling and beaming, the only thing drawing them from it was the sound of nearby gunfire, catching their attention and making them jump in surprise.

“I’ll find you,” Jace then drew him back, a serious expression on his face before he leaned in to kiss him again, the burn making itself known by the genuine feeling in the liplock. And then the man drew back.

“You’d better,” Lucus shot back, Jace shaking his head with a grin before one last peck and he reluctantly pulled away, Lucus lingering and watching him jog the other way. He waited a moment before turning away, back to Jace and he cheered, jumping on the spot and fist-pumping as he headed off, spinning in excitement to see Jace staring with an incredulous and bemused expression on his face.

Lucus abruptly span, chuckling lightly and then internally fist-pumped before darting off back towards the main base to get Discharged.


End file.
